thinking of buying a Brompton. need advice.

[T4tomo]

Go for the SA, I've yet to hear of anyone whose happy with the Nexus hub, not shimano's finest hour, whereas SA wrote the book on making hub gears.

 

[jay clock]

I have had one for 2 mths and love it. Mine is S3L. I do tons of cycling and know what I like, but found the gearing too tough so changed the front ring to a 46 and now perfect. The S bars are lower, but frankly I would prefer lower still. In terms of seat height I would be amazed if you did not need the longer one, as I am about 5:10 with a 31" inside leg, and whack the standard one up to the max and it is perfect!

I also switched to Schwalbe marathons after a week or two when i had a puntcure on the Brompton tyres

Oh, and Orange is the best colour. If you watch W1A then you will know that I now need an intern to fold it though!

 

[CharlieB]

Bit late to the party on this one, Tim, but knowing your riding style, you will almost certainly need a longer seatpost. I'm quite a bit shorter than you, and my standard post was very slightly short on full extension.

I say was, because the Brompfication Ti version that arrived yesterday has a little more height, but that's a whole different story. Just sayin' like, didn't want to tempt you to spend even more cash.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Go for the SA, I've yet to hear of anyone whose happy with the Nexus hub, not shimano's finest hour, whereas SA wrote the book on making hub gears.

unfortunately SA then went bust, threw the book out, had the remaining copies pulped, and the new Taiwanese owners of the brand have produced as many misses as hits so far.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Love my 8-speed SA hub. Pretty much the same total range as the Brompton 6-speed wide-range, but closer ratios and the twist-grip shifter is beautiful in place of the clunky Brompton twin-lever arrangement.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Love my 8-speed SA hub. Pretty much the same total range as the Brompton 6-speed wide-range, but closer ratios and the twist-grip shifter is beautiful in place of the clunky Brompton twin-lever arrangement.

And I love mine for the same reasons.

But some of the current 3 speed and 2 speed models are poorly designed badly engineered pieces of sheet.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

That S2C experience has scarred you.

I am not alone. And I know a couple of folk locally whose three speeds are parp. More neutrals than gears.

 

[T4tomo]

there is nowt wrong with 3 speed SA hub, as long as the spindle chain thingy is adjusted correctly. suggest your local folk set it up correctly.

the 2 speed deraileur is a bit suspect unless spotlessly clean and maintained.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

there is nowt wrong with 3 speed SA hub, as long as the spindle chain thingy is adjusted correctly. suggest your local folk set it up correctly.

the 2 speed deraileur is a bit suspect unless spotlessly clean and maintained.

That would be why all three have been replaced under warranty would it?

and the supplying lbs not longer sells them...